Stardom Comes with a Price
by Hottichan
Summary: ***Chapter 6 up!!!*** Marron leaves her home to fulfill her dream to become a star, but when she comes to give a concert back home love awaits for her. Goten/Marron fic, R&R please!
1. Prologue

Stardom Comes with a Price  
  
Prologue: Beginnings  
  
Juuhachigou crossed her arms and turned away from her daughter. She knew this day would come, but she didn't think it would come so quickly. Not admitting it, she was afraid for her daughter, not wanting her to leave and have to face the cruel world on her own.  
  
"Mama, please don't ignore me!" her pleas came piercing through her skull as she shut her eyes and frowned. She couldn't stand to see her in pain, but she couldn't help it. What was she supposed to do, sit back and watch as her only child went off to another country, deserting her, and starting a life without her?  
  
"Why, Marron? Why this, why can't you be a doctor or a lawyer?" she asked her, still not quite understanding why she'd chosen this specific career.  
  
"You know this has been my dream since I was a kid. If I don't go now then I'll never be able to even come close to fulfilling my dream. You and Papa never put me through classes for this, you always thought my valuable studying time couldn't be spared for it. But now I have a chance to start before it's too late. Mama, I have to do this, don't worry about me I'll be fine. I'll never forget you," she smiled despite the stinging sensation in her eyes while she fought to keep her tears back.  
  
A few minutes of silence went by before Juuhachigou answered her, "promise you'll keep in touch?"  
  
Marron smiled and threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck, "I promise."  
  
~*~  
  
"This is it, last call for my flight," she sniffed, staring at the floor, not wanting to keep eye contact with her family and friends in fear that she'll have regrets. The last thing she wanted on her mind was regret to reach for her life goals.  
  
"We'll miss you," Juuhachigou whispered in her ear as she hugged her. Releasing her mother, Marron turned and walked towards the plane, suitcase in hand. Looking over her shoulder, she flashed everyone a smile before disappearing down the corridor.  
  
"She did it," Krillin sighed. "She's finally going to become a star." 


	2. Beginnings

[AN: yeah yeah, here's the disclaimer, dbz doesn't belong to me blah blah blah, don't try to sue me you won't get much.. Oh and the songs I use belong to their respective owners and not me.* turns to producers that have guns to her head* Happy now?!  
  
Producers: *nod and drop guns *  
  
Hottichan: *wipes forehead * whew! Anyway, on with the story.  
  
Trunks: 26  
  
Goten: 25  
  
Marron: 24  
  
Bra: 18  
  
Pan: 17  
  
Stardom Comes with a Price  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Marron was sitting in the ready room of a studio, stretching out her limbs, as she got ready for her audition. Blitz was crouched behind her and pushing her forward as she sat in a split, stretching her lower back. She needed extra help with this stretch, her muscles were always slightly stiffer in this region, but once she was stretched out she could obtain just about any position.  
  
She'd met Blitz the year she moved in San Francisco and started studying performing arts. He'd helped her become familiar with the city and some 'important' people she'd need to know in order to further her career. The first thing she looked into was dance; she knew she needed to start now otherwise it would become extremely difficult, as she grew older. Already having trouble with it because of her late start, she struggled to keep up with the other dancers her age.  
  
Luckily, Blitz new of a good coach for both dance and vocal training, but after realizing that the man was cheating her out of her money, he decided to train her himself. He'd picked up a few things, growing up with performers. The two had grown close, so close in fact that they could be mistaken for brother and sister if not a couple.  
  
Suddenly, a young girl, about a year younger than Marron, burst through the door and immediately ran in to audition, cutting in line.  
  
"Hey, she's next!" Blitz started, pointing to Marron, only to have her tug on his sleeve.  
  
"Chill, it's okay, I'll go next," she calmed him down. She found herself doing that several times, as he would have trouble containing his anger. Chuckling lightly, Marron stood and took a sip of her water before starting her vocal warm ups.  
  
Just as she was getting ready to enter for her audition, a man burst through the door leading to the stage, waving a chart wildly in his hand. With his free hand, he dragged the girl who'd just walked in. "We have our star! No more auditions are required!"  
  
"What?!" Blitz clenched his teeth and balled his fists. Marron simply stood, put her jacket on and started to clap for the girl. Soon the others joined her as Blitz looked at his blonde haired friend in disbelief. "But-"  
  
"Come on, let's go," she smiled and walked out of the studio with Blitz in hot pursuit.  
  
"What the hell was that, Marron!? You clapped for her? That was your audition, they should have chosen you not her!" he shouted as they entered a secluded area of the park.  
  
"It's okay, Blitz, don't worry about it. I'm fine," she said, her voice wavered slightly. Blitz grasped her arm, stopping her from walking further and spun her around to face him.  
  
"You're lying, no you're not. It's bothering you isn't it?" he looked in her blue eyes as they shimmered, tears threatening to trickle down her cheeks.  
  
"Yeah," she said after a slight hesitation, "it is."  
  
"Come on, Marron, you can tell me anything," he said as they sat under a large willow tree.  
  
"I heard one of the other girls talking about her. She just started training last year, and she was lazy about it too. It's not fair, Blitz! I've worked so hard for all this and she just comes along and takes it all away from me without even so much as lifting a finger to do as much work as I have!" she said on the brink of tears now.  
  
"Marron, I." he started, not sure of what to say. He'd never seen her like this before, she was always the calm one as he was the hot head.  
  
"Did you see her face, Blitz, did you?!" she yelled, standing from her position on the floor. "It's like she didn't even care! It's my dream and she doesn't even give a damn that she stole it from me!"  
  
Blitz stood and wrapped his arms around her, allowing the distraught girl to cry on his shoulder, "it's okay."  
  
"It's not fair," she sobbed, "it's not fair!"  
  
Marron shut her eyes slowly, remembering the memory of that day vividly. She'd cried herself to sleep that night, her hopes and dreams shattered like a million pieces on the floor. Opening her eyes, she smiled at how far she'd come and looked into the enclosed room where two girls were singing some back up lines.  
  
I can't believe it's finally happening, she thought happily to herself. They were recording her first cd with one of the biggest record companies in the country.  
  
"You ready?" Blitz asked her as the two girls stepped out of the sound box. Marron smiled at him and nodded as she stepped into the room and placed the headset over her ears. She looked through the large window to see Blitz counting down with his fingers before pointing to her once the music started.  
  
She'd studied several languages in the time she was in San Francisco, so initially she sung several songs in other languages. Some of her more energetic songs were in Spanish, which she was proud of because she could enunciate much more easily in Spanish than any other language.  
  
"No te pares, baila siempre asi," she sung into the microphone, holding onto the headset to hear the music better. "Mueve las caderas, mueve el esternon mueve el esqueleto, aprovecha la ocasion."  
  
As the song ended, Marron walked out of the sound booth and hugged Blitz as they officially announced her cd, "Around the World." Her producer popped the cd into the player so that they could listen to it. The first track on her song came on and her voice slowly rose through the speakers.  
  
She couldn't believe it, she was listening to her own cd, her own voice, being played by a record company. Her dream had finally come true, all she had to do now was make the video and she'd be on her way back to Japan to visit her family and friends.  
  
"That's you, Marron, you finally did it," Blitz whispered.  
  
"I know!" she screamed excitedly and jumped on him, giving him the biggest hug she could think of.  
  
"I give you a week, tops, and everyone will know your name," he chuckled. Marron grinned from ear to ear and suddenly gasped.  
  
"I have to go celebration shopping!" she said and dragged him out the door, her cd in hand and jumped into his convertible. "Come on, put the cd in," she said excitedly and pumped the volume to full blast.  
  
"Hey, you're going to blow my speakers!" he cried.  
  
"Oh, who cares! I'm going to be a star and I can buy you new ones!"  
  
"Oy vey, things are going to get a lot more interesting around here." he groaned.  
  
~*~  
  
A few weeks later, "Around the World" was released in several countries, one of them being Japan. Bra came flying into the room, waving a cd wildly in her hand, an expression of pure anticipation was plastered on her face.  
  
"I got it! I got Marron's cd!" she cried and popped it into the CD player. Goten stood and snatched the case from her grasp.  
  
"Already?! Didn't she just release it?" he asked confused. Trunks grabbed the case from him and read over the songs.  
  
"She's singing in five different languages!" he shouted.  
  
"She should be a translator not a damn singer," Vegita snorted.  
  
"Wait, wait, here's the translation for this first song.. Mue-.. mue.." Pan started, trying to pronounce the song title.  
  
"Muevelo," Trunks corrected for her.  
  
"Don't stop moving, do it, don't stop moving, don't stop moving, keep dancing like this. Go on move your hips now, move the sternum go and move your bones now, it's your chance to go." Bulma sang along with the Spanish version of the song.  
  
"That's enough from you, woman, let's listen to the brat already!" Vegita snapped.  
  
"Turn that off!" Juuhachigou shouted, running to the stereo and flipping on the radio.  
  
"But, Juu-chan," Krillin started. She motioned for him to be quiet as she raised the volume. The radio announcer's crackly voice broke through the silence as he was talking about Marron.  
  
"Miss Chestnut's single, "Muevelo" has reached number one on the charts!"  
  
Cheers, shouts and screams of joy erupted through out the room. Suddenly, the phone rang and Vegita, being the nearest one, answered it.  
  
"Yeah, what do you want?" he asked arrogantly. "Mmhm, mmhm, mmhm." he hung up with out saying anything else.  
  
"Well, who was it?" Bulma asked, everyone staring at him with curiosity.  
  
"Marron's coming home." 


	3. Home Sweet Home

[AN: Look, to all you who think I ripped off this story, I have no idea what you guys are talking about, I've come up with this on my own from my personal experience and then elaborated from it. I haven't even heard of this Vegeta's princess or whatever much less read her fics. I started with the idea from listening to a Spanish song, and I tell all my writer friends who are starting out not to plagiarize, and unlike some people I practice what I preach.]  
  
  
  
Stardom Comes with a Price  
  
Chapter 3: Home Sweet Home  
  
Blitz looked out the window of the private jet to see nothing but clouds, gray clouds. It hadn't started raining yet, but the humidity was seeping through the poorly insulated walls. Glancing at Marron across from him, he noticed that she was slouching down in her chair, twirling a pen in her hand.  
  
"Marron, sit up. You're a dancer too, and dancers' don't slouch," he scolded and returned to stare out the window. Marron slid down further in her seat, crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him momentarily. Blitz glanced at her, barely missing the gesture she'd made towards him.  
  
A small droplet fell from a cloud and made its way to land on the window. Suddenly, thousands of water drops followed in suit, raining down hard on the jet.  
  
"And here comes the down pour," Blitz sighed, turning away from the window. Marron spun around in her revolving chair and opened a compact mirror that was stored in her pocket. Opening it, she adjusted a few stray strands of hair and clapped the mirror shut. Dusting herself off, she looked at her attire. She was wearing a pair of khaki Capri pants and a pink tube top.  
  
"Blitz," she looked over at him, the glow from lightening bolts was bouncing off his face, "Do you think-" her voice was cut short as the jet shook violently, tossing Marron out of her chair and onto the carpet covered floor. Rug burns covering her elbows and knees and she pushed herself off the ground.  
  
"Shit, are you okay?" he asked her, rubbing his head. He crawled over to her as the plane shook again, introducing their faces with the floor once again.  
  
"Oh, god, I think I'm going to loose my lunch," she held her stomach, and crouched over wincing. The last impact had torn her skin as she'd landed on her knees and elbows again.  
  
"Excuse me for the interruption, ladies and gentlemen. But we seem to be having a little turbulence," the captain's voice crackled through the small p.a. system.  
  
"No shit, Sherlock!" Blitz yelled as they both made their ways back to their chairs. Unfortunately, it would have been better for them to be on the floor, their seats came off their hinges and rolled to the opposite side of the aircraft, slamming into the wall.  
  
"Why the hell don't we just land somewhere?!" Marron cried.  
  
"Like where, on a freeway?!" Blitz said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, shut up," she growled and held onto a bar that was above her head, letting the chair roll freely. Suddenly, the jet unintentionally performed a barrel roll, sending them in a spin cycle. "Ahh," Marron let out a scream, "I feel like I'm in a freaking washing machine!"  
  
"Dammit, Marron, you're not helping!" Blitz screamed, holding onto his own bar desperately. Slowly but surely, the plane leveled off and the two passengers slid to the floor cautiously.  
  
"Hey, we stopped." Marron looked around the aircraft.  
  
Standing up, Blitz rushed over to a window and peered outside to see the clouds being stripped of their grayness as they speedily emerged from the storm. Clarity started to set in, and the city below came into view.  
  
Marron ran to a window and smiled happily, she recognized most of the buildings and shopping centers once they came into view as they began to land. "Blitz, I'm home! I'm finally home!"  
  
"But not home-free," he replied wryly. Just outside of the airport, where the plane was to land, stood hundreds of reporters and photographers.  
  
"What?! No way, how'd they find me here! No one knew I was going to be here for another week!" she cried, an expression of panic, shock and fear arose on her face.  
  
"We'll have to push our way through them," Blitz growled as they touched down on the ground. Once the private jet came to a standstill, Marron grabbed her two handbags and followed Blitz down the staircase.  
  
"Miss Chestnut! Miss Chestnut!" the reporters cried, trying to gain her attention. Immediately, Marron found herself to be staring at several microphones.  
  
"Marron, you look injured, what happened?" asked one.  
  
"Just a little turbulence, but I'm fine," she said and smiled politely.  
  
"Marron, what do you plan to do for this extra week?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but you're questions will have to wait," Blitz interrupted. "Miss Chestnut's had a long and rough flight and would like to rest seeing as she's tired."  
  
They fought their way through the crowd, drowning in a sea of questions, flashes and cameras. Continuously haven't to repeat 'no comment', they made their way out of the throng and into the limousine waiting for her. Flopping down on the small couch, Marron let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"For a second there I thought I was going to die," she said.  
  
"In the plane?" he asked.  
  
"No, in the reporters," she laughed. Blitz chuckled and tossed her a small container of liquid Aloe Vera. "What's this for?"  
  
"Rub it on your skin, it might help for those burns," he said and glanced at her knees.  
  
Marron rubbed on some of the substance, but instantly dropped the container as a stinging sensation arose on her flesh, "ow, it burns!"  
  
"Oh, sorry, that was rubbing alcohol," he said sheepishly and passed her some cream of aloe Vera.  
  
"Smart move," she glared at him, "somehow I doubt that was an accident."  
  
"Now why would I do something like that on purpose?" he said sarcastically.  
  
"You have to ask?" she chuckled and rubbed the cream on her skin. "There, that's better," she smiled.  
  
"Hey, Marron." Blitz said as they came to a halt.  
  
"Hm?" she looked up at him.  
  
"We're here," he grinned and watched as the chauffeur walked around and opened her door. A smile tugged at Marron's lips as sunlight beamed into the limo. She slowly stood up and rested her sunglasses on the tip of her nose, stylishly. Shifting her weight and placing one hand on her hip, she looked at the large building, which read "Capsule Corp." in large letters.  
  
"Marron!!" she heard several familiar voices as the front door opened.  
  
"Hey, guys, what's new?" she asked casually as Bra, Pan, Trunks and Goten smothered her in hugs. "Miss me?"  
  
"No, we just like giving hugs," Bra said sarcastically, "of course we missed you!"  
  
"Hey, Marron, buddy," Pan smiled innocently, "can I-"  
  
"How much," Marron giggled.  
  
"How's a hundred bucks sound?"  
  
"Not much, are you sure you don't need more?" Marron raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, that is it, you are taking me shopping!" Bra exclaimed.  
  
"But first," Trunks interrupted, "she's going to give the details. So, got a boyfriend yet?"  
  
Marron laughed, "No, I'm holding out. Besides, the guys I've seen aren't that good looking," she joked.  
  
"I resent that," Blitz smirked, leaning against the limousine. Marron smiled and walked back, pulling him up to her friends.  
  
"Guys this is Blitz, he's my. manager? No, trainer.. no.." she said confused. "Hey, Blitz what are you?"  
  
"Umm, co. agent of. publicity?" he quickly made up.  
  
"Yeah, that works," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. The four sweat dropped and laughed nervously.  
  
"Oh, you're parents are here," Goten said.  
  
"What? Where?!"  
  
"Marron!" she was instantly tackled by her father. "Oh, my sweet little girl! I missed you so much!"  
  
"Krillin, baka, you look so foolish, get up!" Juuhachigou demanded and looked sternly at them both.  
  
"Missed you too, mama," Marron walked over and hugged her mother. Krillin still wrapped around her ankles. "Daddy, you can let go of me now, I'm not going anywhere for a few weeks!"  
  
"That's it? You're not staying for good?" Goten asked.  
  
"I can't, I've got tours and appearances to make on MTV and stuff like that," she said, "I thought you guys knew."  
  
"Oh, pshh," Bra waved a hand, covering for them, "we knew. We just thought it was going to be for a little bit longer."  
  
"Oh, okay," she smiled. "So what's changed since I left? You guys look a little different," she eyed her friends' appearances.  
  
"Well, Pan finally got a rack," Trunks teased, but immediately got a punch in the arm, "and she's been training more too," he said weakly, rubbing his arm.  
  
"Speaking of which, I'm so out of shape, you guys'll help me right?" Marron looked at them pleadingly.  
  
A sinister grin crept on Trunks and Goten's face, "right! Of course!" 


	4. Love Sucks

Stardom Comes with a Price  
  
Chapter 4: Love sucks  
  
"Are you guys sure I'm doing this right?" Marron looked at her form as she questioned the boys. "Guys?" she asked again, not receiving a response. "Hey, just because I'm wearing a spandex suit doesn't mean it gives you the right to stare at my ass for half an hour," she joked.  
  
"What?!" They both looked up at her face, blushing profusely.  
  
"I wasn't, Goten was!" Trunks defended himself.  
  
"Hey, sell out!" he punched him. Marron laughed at the both of them and glanced down at her watch. She started walking towards the door and pushed the button to open the door.  
  
"Got to go," she waved, but was stopped as Trunks hit the button on the control panel to shut the door. "Hey, open the door!" she cried pressed the button several times, finding that it was locked.  
  
"We're not done yet, Marron!" Trunks said.  
  
"But I'm going shopping with Bra and Pan," she whined, stomping her foot on the floor.  
  
"Sorry, but we'll give you a deal," Goten said.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"You hit Goten and you can leave," Trunks responded.  
  
"What?! Are you insane!? He's a saiya-jin, I can't hit him, he's too fast!" she complained.  
  
"Well, you're still not leaving until you hit him," he said.  
  
Marron opened her mouth to protest, but quickly stopped herself and smirked. "Fine," she crossed her arms.  
  
"What?" Goten raised an eyebrow. 'She's up to something,' he thought.  
  
"I said fine, I won't leave. I'll just sit here and let you two explain to Vegita why you all locked him out of the gravity room," she stated and sat down on the floor in front of the door.  
  
Goten immediately ran over and opened the door, letting her leave, "here you go, Marron!"  
  
"Thanks," she smiled, stood up and started to walk out the door, but stopped and quickly walked back for a moment. "Oh, and Goten?"  
  
"Yeah?" he looked back at her.  
  
She tapped his face lightly, "gotcha." She smirked and walked out the door, pulling her hair down from the ponytail it was in.  
  
Goten stared at her back, "how did she. and what. but she." he stuttered.  
  
"She beat you, Goten, fair and square," Trunks laughed and dropped down into a fighting stance.  
  
"Yeah, but you won't," he smirked and did the same, shutting the door.  
  
~*~  
  
"It's about time, Marron!" Pan ran up to her.  
  
"Ew, gross, you smell, what have you been doing?" Bra asked her, shoving her into her room so she could take a shower.  
  
"I was training," she defended herself.  
  
"For what? The stink fest?" Pan asked and retrieved an outfit for her to wear.  
  
"Well, anyway, hurry up so we can go the mall already!" Bra said and pushed her into the bathroom. Pan laid out the outfit consisting of a pink skirt and white blouse, which had a little star in the corner. Once Marron was dressed and prepped to go, they walked outside and jumped into the car.  
  
Flipping on the radio, Marron started the engine, "so how long has it been since you guys have been on a shopping spree?"  
  
"Um, last week?" Bra answered.  
  
"Oh you guys are going to have a whole new wardrobe when we're done," she smirked and drove down the highway. As soon as they'd arrived, the girls immediately went for the boutiques.  
  
"Oh, this dress would look perfect on you, Bra!" Pan said, holding up a red dress with golden hemming. Bra walked over and gaped at its beauty.  
  
She looked at the tag, "but it's a size too small. and way too expensive."  
  
Marron glanced at the tag and read it, "oh that's nothing," she waved a hand at her. "Come on, we're going to shove you into this dress if we have to, it's the only one left."  
  
"Can I help you girls?" A saleswoman asked them.  
  
"Yeah, could you get this dress off the mannequin, she's going to try it on," Marron said.  
  
"That dress is a designer, maybe you girls would be more happy with another selection," she said, judging them as if they couldn't afford the dress.  
  
"Could you just get it off the rack?" Marron asked annoyed. Rolling her eyes, the woman slid it off the mannequin and handed it to the girls.  
  
"The dressing room's in the back," she huffed. Without saying another word, they walked in the direction the woman had motioned in and started to help Bra into the dress.  
  
"Come on, Bra, we can do this! Suck it in!" Marron said, pulling the zipper up as she stood just outside the curtain of the room.  
  
"Alright, alright!" she obeyed.  
  
"It's Marron!" they heard a voice shout. Marron snapped her head over to see a worker with a look of excitement on his face. She quickly ran out to tell her friends who passed it on to several other people in the mall.  
  
Marron let out a cry of nervousness and jumped into the dressing room with the two girls.  
  
"What going on?" the saleswoman asked as the girls came out of the dressing room, being circled by tons of people. The blonde apparently signing autographs to several fans.  
  
"That's Marron Chestnut, international singer, haven't you heard of her?" one man informed her.  
  
"Oh, miss?" Marron looked at the saleswoman and shoved her credit card in her face. "Could you charge the dress?"  
  
"O-of course," she stammered and went to ring up the price.  
  
~*~  
  
The trio had returned from their shopping spree, barely able to keep the bags inside the car. Marron had just dropped Pan off at her home and was now at Capsule Corp. to drop of Bra.  
  
"Thank you so much, Marron! I haven't shopped that much in. a month!" she cried happily, climbing out of the convertible.  
  
"No prob! We should do it again sometime, you can never do enough shopping!" she smiled.  
  
"I love you!" she squealed in excitement. "See ya later, Marron!"  
  
"Bye, sweetheart!" she winked and drove off. Her cell phone suddenly rang, causing her to lower the volume on her radio and pick it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Marron, baby, big news!" her manager shouted through the phone.  
  
"Calm down, Milo, I'm not deaf you know!" she winced and drove past a few slower drivers.  
  
"Listen, I've got a big surprise for you, where are you right now?" he asked.  
  
"I'm on my way back to the hotel, listen, could you call me tomorrow? I'm kind of tired," she said honestly.  
  
"But, Marron!"  
  
"Bye, Milo," she hung up and pulled into a parking spot and carried her bags up to her room and dumped them on the floor. Climbing over them, she flopped down on her bed. She'd reserved the penthouse suit so that she was able to look down on the city through the large windows.  
  
Suddenly, her phone rang again. She picked it up annoyingly and yelled into it, "Milo, I said tomorrow!"  
  
"Marron?" another voice came through.  
  
"Goten? Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else." she yawned.  
  
"That's okay," he whispered.  
  
Marron heard a tone of sadness in his voice, "Goten, are you okay?"  
  
"Well, can I come in?" he asked.  
  
"What?" she raised an eyebrow. She was startled when she heard a tap at her window. She spun around to see Goten hovering outside, the wind blowing through his hair. She stood up and walked over, opening the window allowing him to come in. She hung up her phone and placed it on the table.  
  
"Marron, I."  
  
She looked at him, "what's wrong, what happened?"  
  
"Me and Paresu broke up," he said.  
  
"Aw, Goten, I'm sorry," she hugged him. Inwardly, she was screaming with joy, but she didn't know why.  
  
"It's not your fault." he sniffed.  
  
"Wait, why aren't you talking with Trunks about this?" she asked.  
  
"Because he kissed her, that's why we broke up," he frowned.  
  
"He what!? Ugh, why am I not surprised. he'll flirt with any pair of legs under a skirt," she sighed.  
  
"Well, he's not as bad as he used to be." he defended him.  
  
"Don't worry about him, Goten. You know what?" she said and led him to the couch where they sat down.  
  
"What?" he said and laid his head on her lap, making her laugh.  
  
"Love sucks, big time. You're always safe with friends until that so-called special someone comes into the picture then it all goes downhill from there," she joked.  
  
"You're right, Marron. Thanks, you're a really good friend," he said as she played with his hair.  
  
"Hey, that's what I'm here for. Being a star isn't my only talent," she giggled.  
  
"Yeah, just keep telling yourself that," he grinned.  
  
"Hey!" she smacked his shoulder playfully. He sat up and started tickling her. "Ah! Goten, stop!" she said in between fits of laughter.  
  
"Friends forever?" he said when he'd finally stopped.  
  
"Friends forever," she chuckled. "Secret handshake," she said as they did their own sequenced handshake that they'd made up when they were little.  
  
"I think we need a new handshake," Goten laughed. 


	5. Injury

Stardom Comes with a Price  
  
Chapter 5: Injury  
  
Marron lay in her bed in a peaceful slumber, her hair in a loose ponytail. As the annoying ringing of her alarm clock sounded, she slammed her hand down on it, finally having peace and quiet. Unfortunately, that was only for a moment as her phone rang loudly.  
  
"I can never get enough sleep anymore," she groaned and swung her hand over, picking up the phone. "This better be important," she muttered.  
  
"Marron, guess what!?" Milo shouted.  
  
"Milo? It's 5 am, don't you have anything better to do?"  
  
"Shyster is singing a duet with you on your next concert!" he said excitedly.  
  
"What!?" Marron shot up in bed, hitting her forehead on the bar above her bed. "Son of a." she rubbed her forehead and stood up, looking at her reflection in the mirror, trying to see if there was a bump on her head.  
  
"Did you hear me, Marron, Shyster!" he shouted.  
  
"Milo, that's great news. Is he going to be at rehearsal today?" she asked and slid her shirt off, walking into the bathroom to take a shower.  
  
"Yeah, he is. Now Marron, this is huge and-"  
  
"Milo, I'll talk to you at rehearsal, I'm busy right now, bye!" she threw her phone onto the bed and shut the door to the bathroom.  
  
~*~  
  
Marron answered her phone for the thousandth time and yelled into it.  
  
"Mar-"  
  
"Look, Milo, I'm almost there! Whatever it is it can wait!" she shouted and hung up.  
  
Blitz looked at his phone in confusion, Marron had just left from Capsule Corp. She was in something called a gravity room, whatever that was. And now she wouldn't talk to him, thinking he was Milo.  
  
Marron winced as she slid out of her car, she'd accidentally set the gravity too high and had injured her ankle. She didn't want to tell anyone, or let them know because she didn't want them to worry over her and post one the concert. Besides, it was just a pulled muscle, right?  
  
"Marron, what took you so long!?" Blitz asked her once she'd arrived.  
  
"Sorry, I took a while warming up, I was really sore," she said.  
  
"From what?" Milo asked suspiciously.  
  
"I was shopping for four hours yesterday," she said, "look, can we just start?"  
  
"Excellent idea," a male voice said. Marron turned around and held out her hand as a greeting.  
  
"Shyster, nice to meet you," she smiled.  
  
"You too, miss international!" he joked.  
  
"So what song are we singing together?"  
  
"He said she said," he replied, "it's a new piece."  
  
"Cool, can I hear it?" she asked and walked over to the stereo. Blitz popped the cd into the stereo and played it for them.  
  
"Do you get which parts you'll be singing?" Shyster asked.  
  
Marron nodded, "sounds like fun."  
  
"Okay, you two ready, take it from the top!"  
  
"Oh, baby!" Marron started.  
  
"Crazy." Shyster joined, "she said she loved me forever."  
  
"He said that we were together."  
  
"She told me I was the only one," he slid over to Marron.  
  
"She told me I'm not the only one," Marron, upon Shyster's arrival, kicked her leg up.  
  
"She said that I could believe her."  
  
"He said that he wasn't with her."  
  
They both started messing around with several dance moves. When Blitz had suggested Marron perform she pirouette, she thought she would pass out from the pain. She managed to hide her ache from them as well as she could. Luckily, they had their eyes on Shyster at the time.  
  
"Good job today, guys," Milo said as they left, "we'll pick it up tomorrow."  
  
~*~  
  
Late at night, darkness filled the dreary studio as a single silhouette was working on technique in front of the mirror. She tried to do a pirouette, but nearly tripped as her ankle couldn't support her weight.  
  
"Dammit, Marron, you can do this," she spoke to herself. "What am I saying?" She slumped down to the floor in a heap and let her tears flow freely. "The concerts in a week and my ankles getting worse, now there's a new routine that I'm supposed to learn. I can't do this on a busted leg." she thought.  
  
"Are you okay, Marron?" a voice asked. She gasped, not realizing anyone else was in the room.  
  
"I'm fine, Goten," she mumbled. "Just a pulled muscle is all."  
  
"You should see a doctor, that doesn't look like a pulled muscle to me."  
  
"You right." she sniffed.  
  
"It's starting to swell." 


	6. Confession

Stardom Comes with a Price  
  
Chapter 6: Confession  
  
Marron winced as the man in a white jacket placed his hands on her ankle and felt to see what was wrong with it. As a child, she never enjoyed visits to the doctor's, another reason for her avoiding making an appointment for her injury. She never really got injured, and if she did all she had to do was put ointment and a bandage on it. Never really anything serious.  
  
"Well, Marron," spoke the man, "I'm afraid this isn't a pulled muscle. But I have to get X-rays. Let me go see if the room is empty."  
  
The second the doctor had left; she'd immediately dressed and opened the window. There was no way she was going to have proof that she couldn't perform. She was going to sing in that concert if it killed her. Hopefully, that wouldn't be an option.  
  
She looked out the window, luckily she was only on the second floor and she would be able to make it out to her car in no time. She climbed out the window and grabbed onto a branch from a nearby tree and swung down, landing on her good leg and snuck over to her car. She started up the engine and drove off before anyone had a chance to stop her.  
  
"Shit," she cursed to herself, "I can feel it, it's a damn fracture!"  
  
Concentrating on the road, Marron drove speedily down the highway and back to the studio where she planned to practice until she could drown out the pain. She'd always been stubborn, just like her mother, and one little fractured bone wasn't going to stop her, not by a long shot.  
  
Sure, her friends may be concerned if they saw her in pain or noticed a limp, but she'd simply tell them that she was sore from rehearsal. They'd buy that, they'd never doubted Marron, and she'd been the truthful one. If she lied, which she rarely did, they obviously didn't notice unless she wanted to. But she didn't want them to know about this, otherwise they could pull her out of the concert and make her wear a ridiculous cast. No daughter of an android and the strongest human was going to be stopped by a cast. At least that's how she thought it to be.  
  
But then there was Goten, she couldn't lie to him, she wouldn't. He was the one who'd told her to see a doctor; there was no way around that. He already knew that it was something serious so "a pulled muscle" or "sore from rehearsal" wasn't going to cut it.  
  
As she thought this through, she pulled up to the studio and walked in. She knew that no one would be using most of them so she was safe, for now. She walked in and faced the mirror to see her movements clearly as she began to practice the routine.  
  
~*~  
  
Goten flew through the air after locating Marron's ki, finally he'd be able to talk to her. The night before he went looking for her for the same reason, but her injury had distracted him and he'd forgotten what he was actually there for. But this time he knew what he was going to talk to her about and he'd be able to say it now.  
  
Coming within viewing distance of the studio he began to slow down and hovered in the window of the studio Marron was rehearsing in. He tapped lightly on the glass and waited for her to open it.  
  
Marron stopped what she was doing and turned her head to the side to see where the sound was coming from when she realized it was from the window. She spun around to see Goten levitating in the air. Walking over and opening the window, she stepped back, careful on her ankle, and allowed him access.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.  
  
"First, did you go to the doctor's?" he asked, knowing his priorities.  
  
"Yeah," she said solemnly, "he said I just twisted it and it would be fine for the concert."  
  
"Good," he said. "Marron, there's something I have to tell you."  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"Do you remember when we'd said we were going to be friends forever?" he looked up at her nervously.  
  
"Y-yeah," she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Goten was acting strangely, he was nervously fingering his shirt and didn't seem to want to make eye contact with her.  
  
"Well, I." he took a deep breath, "I want to be more than friends with you."  
  
"What!?" she screamed and jumped back away from him. All of a sudden, out of the blue, he confessed his feelings for her. When had this all happened? Why did he suddenly say this? Was it because he was lonely from just breaking up with Paresu? Was it because he was on the rebound? When did he start having feelings for her? Was it because she was now famous?  
  
These were several questions that ran through Marron's mind as she tried to comprehend what was going on. He'd startled her with this sudden affirmation. Before she had a chance to reply, Blitz burst into the room and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Marron, where have you been?" he dragged her away from Goten. "We've been looking all over you! Come on, Shyster's waiting!"  
  
"But." Marron started and glanced back at Goten who stood there in confusion.  
  
"We don't have any time to waste, Marron, let's go!" he pulled her out of the studio and towards the car.  
  
"Marron." Goten whispered, not knowing if she felt the same about him or if he'd just been rejected. 


End file.
